Open Letter to MP re. interference in internal affairs of Church of England

Dear Mrs. Hunt,

We were very concerned to read your letter of 26th November 2023 (on House of Commons stationery and published on your website) to the Leicester Diocese of the Church of England. In this you oppose the proposals being put forward by the Diocese as an MP. We would have no concern if you wrote as a member of the Church of England, but intervening as a Member of Parliament is blatant political interference in the way a religious body can operate.

We appreciate that the Church of England has yet to be disestablished, but as the Member of Parliament for Loughborough, you speak on behalf of a population the vast majority of which does not involve itself with the Church of England. The 2021 census shows that the religious breakdown of Loughborough’s population is 43% non religious, 41% Christian (of various denominations), 4% Hindu, 4% Muslim and 8% other. Those actually involved on a regular basis with the Church of England, based on attendance figures, constitute only about 2% of the population.

It would be wrong for you as an MP to intervene in the way that Muslims, Hindus and other religions/denominations organise and we believe that the Church of England should also be free from such interference.

The existence of an established religion in modern Britain is ridiculous. Disestablishment would mean that the Church would no longer have privileged input into government - but also that government could not involve itself in the running of the Church. Both sides would gain autonomy.

Yours sincerely,

Ned Newitt
Chair

Text of letter to the Leicester Diocese of the Church of England

Jane Hunt MP
HOUSE 0F COMMONS
26th November 2023

Dear Roy,
I would like to send my apologies for being unable to attend your upcoming meeting but I would be grateful if you could please read out the following statement:

“I share the concerns about Leicester Diocese of the Church of England's plan to shut down all Parishes and replace them with Ministers, and I would like to thank Roy for his tireless campaigning on this issue. The information he has provided to me over the past year has enabled me to make the case for the status quo to be retained.

One of the biggest concerns I have about the plan is that it will replace twenty vicars with an additional twenty operations directors. Churches play a central role in local communities and it is vital for their future that they continue to reflect the needs of, and serve, their communities, rather than have their funding and relative autonomy redirected towards dioceses and the central church. This will sever the long-standing and crucial relationship between local communities and their local vicars, leading to a loss of identity and, potentially, even a loss of revenue from parishioners. Its also concerning that these changes are being implemented without the consent of all the parishes.

I have, therefore, been working to put forward the case for these plans to be shelved and I have attended two meetings with the national campaign “Save the Parish” in Parliament to better understand the key concerns and arguments against the plans.

I have also been in regular contact with the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, who is responsible for ensuring the established Church is accountable to Parliament, to make him aware of the depth of local residents’ concerns, through a number of mediums, including written questions, emails and meetings. One of the main reasons for the plan is to put churches on a sustainable footing, so my conversations with the Second Church Estates Commissioner have focused on whether money can be released to the Church of England Fund to negate the need for the changes. The Commissioner has been sympathetic to the campaign but has consistently maintained that, ultimately, it is for the Church itself to determine how it is structured and that, there are, of course, other underlying reasons for its plans, aside from financial issues.

I have, therefore, also been in contact with Bishop Martyn Snow, the Bishop of Leicester, and met with him once in person and once by phone to discuss this.

During our meetings, the Bishop Martyn has maintained that the Church is not merging parishes or getting rid of them. Instead, Minister Communities will be formed through a facilitated, collaborative process with parishes. Every Minister Community Team will have an ordained Oversight Minister and a range of other clergy and lay ministers will support the churches within the Minster Community. There will be a named minister in every church, who may be lay or ordained.

The Bishop mentioned that there are financial concerns around the current structure and cited that parishes in the Loughborough constituency, for example, are currently paying 62% of the cost of their stipendiary clergy posts. That leaves an annual deficit of £277,300 that the diocese has to cover. The amount which parishes in the Loughborough constituency have contributed towards their ministry costs has fallen by over £100,000 since 2019, which equates to 18%. This pattern is repeated across the Diocese, leaving them with a deficit of £2 million.

As well as to ensure churches become financially sustainable, the Bishop stated that the proposal for Minster Communities grew out of a recognition that, to reach and serve more people in our communities, the Church needs to keep pace with changes in society. In addition, the Church has heard how many clergy and lay people are struggling to do the work of running churches and so Minister Communities seek to relieve these pressures through working in supportive partnerships.

The Bishop was also adamant that no current clergy would be made redundant and that churches would not be left in permanent vacancies. In addition, he touched on the fact, that parishes will not lose their autonomy as each Parochial Church Council (PCC) will choose to join a Minster Community and PCCs will continue to exist, with ongoing responsibility for their buildings, assets, church governance and charitable trustee responsibilities.

There is, clearly, still a way to go to convince the Church not to implement these changes but I would like to assure you that I will continue to raise local residents’ concerns about these plans going forward. If anyone would like to discuss this with me further, please do get in touch.”

Best wishes,
Jane Hunt MP

This was the response received from Jane Hunt 

From: HUNT, Jane B

Sent: Tuesday, February 6, 2024 6:23 PM

To: chair@leicestersecularsociety.org.uk

Subject: RE: Open Letter for publication

Dear Mr Newitt,

Thank you for letter of 2^nd January about Leicester Diocese of the Church of England's plan.

As an MP, my main responsibility is to represent the views of my constituents, regardless of their religious beliefs, and ensure that their concerns are raised with the relevant body or organisation.

In this case, as I made clear in my statement, a number of residents have raised their concerns about Leicester Diocese’s proposals with me and I have attended two national meetings where concerns regarding the reforms have been raised. It is clear that there is widespread interest in this matter and that these reforms are being implemented without the support of all parishes.

The main concern highlighted to me, which I agree with, is that the personalised nature of a local vicar within a community is both supportive and comforting in times of need. It is important that the long-standing link between communities and their local vicars is not severed to the detriment of parishioners and the future of the church itself. Indeed, the other denominations of churches and places of religious worship I have visited or spoken with are doing well in maintaining and, in some cases, increasing their congregations as they have retained their local figureheads within the community.

I would also like to be clear that I am not attempting to interfere, merely highlight the arguments against the proposals which have been put to me. This is something I also do for those who have different religious beliefs, for example, I have recently raised the concerns of local Muslim faith leaders with regards to the current situation in Gaza.

Finally, while it is imperative that the Leicester Diocese listens to the concerns being raised by their own parishioners, they do, ultimately, have the final say in the matter. 

Best wishes,

Jane